Instant Replay
by Marianna Giniagio
Summary: Jude's career is finally winding down after five years away. When she decides to move back, there are a whirlwind of problems to greet her. Join Jude as she realizes there are some things you really can't run away from forever. I do not own Instant Star.
1. Chapter 1

**(A/N:) This is a story that's just been making its way more and more into my mind the past few weeks, so I just wanted to get it out there. Now, not much happens in this chapter, because it's mainly just to get people a feel for the story and a little background info, since this is set a few years in the future. I also intend for the following chapters to be a bit longer than this, but I figure first chapters are just a bit slow going in general. So basically, if you don't love this chapter, please don't base your judgement on this. However, if you love it, then please do! And, as always, I love reviews, so R&R, please!**

**- Mari **

Instant Replay by Marianna Giniagio

Chapter 1

Sadie Harrison stood on the front doorstep of the house she and her family had once inhabited. Closing her eyes and taking a deep, steadying breath, she lifted the key to the lock and firmly slid it inside. As she turned it, she felt the door click roughly from the position it had been in for the past five years, and opened her eyes to the realization that she _had_ to do this. There was no hiding from it. Her sister was coming back to Toronto for good; she needed to be prepared for what was in store for her once that plane landed.

Sadie stepped inside the musty-smelling, unused house and set her scarf on the table still by the door. Although there had been no one living in it, the house was still furnished with everything she remembered. She had moved in with her fiancée, who already had everything, minus the clothing, makeup, etc. And there was no way Jude could have taken all this stuff with her to London.

But she had to break it in. Jude was planning on moving back in here when she came back, and it needed to get a homey feeling back in it. "Thanks, Jude, give me one days' warning that you're moving back. Real nice, sis," Sadie muttered to herself, while giving the place a good once-over.

For the next few hours, Sadie busied herself, cleaning up the house for Jude's arrival, but eventually she realized she could not put off the necessary phone call. She lowered herself slowly onto the couch in the living room. Her cell phone lay on the coffee table in front of her. Sadie reached out to grab the phone and held it securely in her hands, glaring at it, as if it were the reason for her dilemma: calling Jude. She had two pieces of information, which she knew her sister would not want to hear.

The first, being about her engagement. She had been engaged for only a week, and wanted Jude to be her maid of honor. That, however, was not the dreaded part; the scary part was telling Jude _who_, exactly, she was marrying. Sadie knew that, though they hadn't know each other for very long, neither her sister nor her future husband had a very good perception of the other. That's why she decided to convince both that they had changed.

The second part, didn't affect Sadie, as much as it did Jude. Jude was happy to finally be going home. To everything that hadn't provided her constantly with drama, that is. The main source of that drama, as it happened, decided to leave Toronto, for his native Montreal, two years back. And what do you know, right when Jude's career is winding down, he gets a job offer back at G-Major.

Sadie, over the past few years, has worked herself up the G-Major chain, all the way into the position of Vice President. A lot more has changed at G-Major, since Jude left, though. Darius Mills stepped down as G-Major President/Owner and sold it back to Georgia Bevans, who managed to work herself up enough money to successfully run it again. Also, Georgia, with her charismatic powers, managed to get everyone back from NBR, but kept Jamie and Zeppelin as producers, until they decided to move to the States.

'_At least,' _Sadie thought, _'Jamie called Jude and told her about that one.'_ That was one thing on her agenda she would rather not have to relate back to her sister, on top of all the other stuff she has to tell her.

Sadie flipped her phone up and glanced at the LCD screen, before pressing the speed-dial number 2, Jude. Sadie groaned in frustration as she heard her sister's voice come over the speaker. "Hi, if you're calling now, then you probably don't know I'm on the plane back to Canada! So, leave a message, and I'll call you when I get there! Bye!" Sadie rolled her eyes at her sister's recorded voice and decided to leave a message.

"Hey, Jude. Oh sorry about the reference. I was just calling to talk, can't wait until you're actually here tomorrow! Bye!" Sadie slammed the phone back down onto the coffee table and swore. She was _not_ happy about the prospect of having to tell Jude everything in person. Or risking the chance that she would hear it from somebody else, before she could tell her.

* * *

Jude stepped onto the British Airways plane that would take her back to Toronto. Smiling at the stewardess as she passed, she looked around and found her seat in first class. Staring out the window, at all the other planes and the city beyond the airport, she said goodbye to London, and accepted her life how it used to be. Minus, some not-so-easy-to-forget memories.

She leaned her head back on the headrest and prepared to endure the seven-hour flight back home. She always hated these long flights, but hopefully she wouldn't be leaving Toronto anytime soon. As soon as that thought went through her head, she fell asleep, dreaming of old times, and a certain someone that she was desperate to forget.

* * *

**(A/N:) The little blue button down there **_**loves **_**if you push it! ****R&R!**


	2. Chapter 2

**(A/N:) Hey guys, I'm back with a LONGER chapter! insert applause here And, not only is it longer, it's also filled with something, which I find mildly interesting. But, I will remind you that, we are still in the introductory chapters of the story. Something I would love to hear from you, is whether or not you like the pace I'm going at with the story so far. Should I speed it up or move a bit slower? Or am I doing good? And also, as always review. Tell me if you love it, hate it, or anything in between.**

**Thank you!**

**-Mari**

* * *

"Hello?" Jude heard a voice.

It got louder. "_Hello?_"

Jude was really getting agitated, now. As if the world were conspiring against her, she heard it again. "_HELLO?_"

'_Oh yeah,' _Jude thought, '_whoever this is, is gonna get it big time.' _Hugging her trusty pillow, she slowly raised one eyelid, keeping an eye out for the perpetrator of that incessant whining. Her eye rested on a girl, who seemed to be about eight years old, and _very_ annoyed with a certain, formerly sleeping, rock star.

Jude opened her eyes further, attempting to figure out who this little girl was and _why_, exactly, she had felt the need to disturb her. The girl had long brown hair that was tied up, into a ponytail, with a pink ribbon. Her dark green eyes were squinting at something. Jude assumed she was trying to glare at her somewhat convincingly; it wasn't working. And, to top it all off, Jude glanced at the body part responsible for her rude awakening, a brace-filled mouth.

As Jude looked at her mouth, she realized something: it was still moving. Jude shook her head slightly, bringing herself back to reality to try and listen to what the girl was trying to communicate.

"Um, okay, what _are_ you, _deaf_, or something?" The girl ranted on.

Jude, confused by this question, asked, "Sorry, excuse me?"

The girl gave an overdramatic sigh, accompanied by an eye roll of the same magnitude. "I_ asked_ you to move!" Jude blinked, while the girl heaved up another frustrated sigh. "You know, I would _really_ like to get off this plane sometime within the next _century_!"

This brought Jude crashing back to reality. All of a sudden, she finally realized why this girl was here, and why she had woken her up. Jude took in her surroundings: itchy seats, windows lining the walls, ladies cleaning up. Yep, she was on a nearly deserted plane in Toronto.

"Oh, sorry." She mumbled quietly, as she stood to let the girl pass.

"Yeah," she heard the annoying preteen voice snap back at her.

Once she had gathered all of her belongings, she made her way out of the plane and into the line for customs. After a good half-hour of standing in line, she was finally out of the gate, and standing in the international terminal, searching, through the people moving about around her, for Sadie, who was supposed to be picking her up right about now. But, to her surprise, she found someone else first.

"Georgia!"

This exclamation brought the eyes of Georgia Bevans upon her. Georgia's eyes widened almost as much as Jude's, as she saw the girl who she had once viewed as somewhat of a daughter figure to her. Georgia rested the sign, bearing the name 'Jude Harrison,' down by her feet, as she stepped forward to embrace the younger woman in a hug.

"So, Jude, how've you been?" Georgia inquired, with a wide grin on her face.

"G, don't 'So-Jude-how've-you-been' me!" Jude exclaimed, in a friendly way. "What are you doing here?"

"What, you mean you haven't heard?" Jude still looked lost. "I bought back G-Major from Darius."

Jude stood, gaping at her, wanting an explanation.

All Georgia could think to do, at this point, was chuckle at her obvious confusion, "Come on, Jude, I'll explain it to you on the way to the studio."

* * *

The moment Georgia's black Escalade pulled up in front of G-Major, Jude began to feel nervous. She had not seen these people for five years, how was she going to react? Or more importantly, how were they?

She put on a smile, as she opened the door, and, as expected, was blinded by paparazzi cameras flashing all around her. She moved through them, with a simple, "No comment." She was too excited and nervous about the upcoming reunion to bother saying much else. She was afraid more than words may come out of her mouth.

Georgia walked with her up the front steps to G-Major, and opened the door.

Silence.

That is what she got.

Silence.

Well, unless you count the numerous sounds of fingers tapping on keyboards, faxes coming in, phones ringing off the hook, and the hustle-and-bustle of everyday life at an office to be something worth hearing. '_I just came back from London for five years! And this is the reception I get?_' Jude could not believe it. Then she spotted her, the one person she knew would be thrilled to see her!

"Sadie, guess who's back?" Jude said playfully, coming up behind her sneakily.

Sadie jumped at the voice behind her, but recovered quickly. "Oh, Jude, hey, glad you're back," she mumbled, never once looking up from her work, at her sister.

Needless to say, Jude felt extremely put out by this. She strolled back over to the front desk, where Georgia was signing off on a delivery.

"Hey, G, do you mind telling me what's going on here? Because I'm getting the feeling I've kind of just disappeared off the face of the Earth, while I was gone," she said, studying Georgia's face for any trace of sympathy or a 'Gotcha!' look there, but there was nothing to comfort Jude from the thought that, maybe she _had_ been forgotten. Or at least, not missed. G-Major seemed to be holding up just fine without her, not even her own sister seemed to care that she was back, '_Maybe this was a mistake coming back._' That was the constant thought going through her mind.

"Hmm, what was that?" Georgia replied, leafing through a document that had just been faxed over.

Jude sighed and asked Georgia if there were anything she would like to for her to do. Georgia looked around, "No, no, I think we've pretty much got it covered here. Listen, why don't you go home, relax, and come back later to pick Sadie up at seven o'clock tonight. She has some date, and she needs a ride to your house to get a dress from there. You don't mind, do you, dear?"

"Uh, no, of course not. Well, I guess I'll be back here later." Jude walked out the door and caught the bus home without another word.

* * *

Later that evening, Jude was at home, trying to relax and rest from the long ride home, and the stress-inducing experience she had at the studio today. As she was sitting down on the couch with her Kung Pao chicken, she diverted her eyes from the television screen to the clock resting on the mantle of the fireplace. It read six-thirty. '_Great_,' she thought, '_Time to go pick Sadie up from G-Major._'

Swinging her legs from the comfortable couch onto the hardwood floor below, she regretted ever telling Georgia she would do this. Dragging herself away from her comfort food, she made her way into her bedroom, to get something more decent on than her sweats.

She decided on a pair of her favorite ripped jeans and a Rolling Stones t-shirt. She threw on a black hoodie with this ensemble and made her way to her car, outside. On the way to the studio, Jude contemplated what everyone's odd behavior before could have meant. Georgia was perfectly normal before we got to the studio, but once we stepped foot in there she was _Ms. President_ and there was no going back. The same happened with Sadie, though. On the phone, she had been ecstatic to see her younger sister again, but when she actually saw Jude, she acted as if she had never even noticed she was gone.

Maybe it's the air.

* * *

When Jude pulled up to the studio in her Mustang, she was even more confused as to why so many people were there. She was having trouble finding a place to park, and it was after hours! The studio usually closes to the public at five o'clock. Beyond that time, and you need a key card to get in.

Curious, Jude parked and walked up to the door, peering in. But there were so many lights on, that there was no need for the hand cupped above her head. She could see perfectly, even standing ten feet away from the tinted glass door.

On closer inspection, Jude realized that there was a party going on inside. '_Why would Sadie want to leave a party like this?_' she asked herself, truly puzzled. Wondering what was going on, Jude opened the door carefully, feeling oddly as if she were intruding on something. Her eyes widened as she looked over the scene before her.

Sadie came up to her, followed closely by Georgia and Speid. "Hey there, rock star, ready to celebrate?" Sadie laughed while she said this, obviously having a good time…and probably a little drunk. At these parties, you never know.

"Exactly, what, are we celebrating?" Jude asked, happy for any reason to get out of house and have a little fun.

At this, Speid looked at her like she had grown three heads and gestured to a sign so huge, Jude was amazed at her disability to see it before now. In big bold letters, it read, _**WELCOME HOME, JUDE!!**_


	3. Chapter 3

Jude stood in the middle of G-Major, eyes wide with surprise.

Georgia laughed warmly at her reaction, "Jude, did you really believe we didn't care that you were back?"

Jude felt a bit of color come to her pale cheeks as she realized two things. One; she had been completely fooled by them, and they really were happy that she was back. Two; the man that she was looking most forward to seeing – but also dreading speaking to – was standing directly in front of her. Staring.

Jude released a tiny gasp as she felt the intensity of his icy blue eyes venturing deep into her own. "I, uh…um…I mean, I uh…"

"Earth to Dude!" Spied looked at her worriedly, and then followed her gaze to find Thomas Quincy standing there. "Oh. Awkward!"

Jude, Sadie, and Georgia all turned to glare at him.

"What?"

A collective groan was heard as a response to that question.

"So, Jude, I think we'll just leave you to enjoy your party. Come on, guys."

"Wait, Georgia, why are we leaving?" Spiederman asked, confused.

Georgia sighed, "Oh Vincent."

Tommy raised his eyebrows nonchalantly at the scene, which had just played out before him. "So, Jude, you're here. Again."

Her senses, finally returning from their former hiatus, allowed Jude to take a deep breath before responding.

"Um, yeah, I am."

He nodded, "So how have things been? London, was it everything you expected it to be?"

Her eyes glazed over a bit as she thought back to London, and the only thing that had been missing, "For the most part, yeah."

Tommy stood calmly in front of Jude, looking her over.

'_She looks good'_ he thought to himself.

Jude stood there, awkwardly, trying to look anywhere but at _him_.

"So, I think Georgia said she wanted to talk about something."

Jude looked around wildly, not entirely sure where Georgia was at the moment.

Tommy sighed, relieved, "Yeah, you should probably go do that, then."

Jude just ran for the closest escape she could find: Studio B.

Jude walked inside, her heart beating faster than she had felt it, since she moved to London. Falling back on the couch, she let her mind wander back to a certain former boybander.

"Oh, Oh, let me guess." Sadie came in with a thoughtful expression on her face.

"Oh, no, wait! Let me." Georgia joined Sadie.

"Let you guys, what?" Jude laughed at their antics.

"Hmm, the guy you're thinking of has…Oh, I know I'll get it." Sadie thought for a second.

"Dark hair?" Georgia volunteered.

"Blue eyes?" Sadie joined in.

"Gorgeous voice?" Georgia smiled wickedly.

"Okay, you are seriously crazy if you think that's who I'm thinking about!" Jude said rolling her eyes.

"Mhm, so why are you holding his guitar?" Georgia cocked one eyebrow, clearly amused.

Jude looked down, and sure enough, her calloused fingers lay on the strings of Tommy's old guitar. "Oh, I didn't realize it was his," she lied, attempting to get herself out of this sticky situation.

Sadie and Georgia could not take it any longer; they curled up on the floor in fits of laughter. "Oh yeah, Jude." Sadie attempted in between laughs, "I'm _sure_ you had _no_ idea."

Once their laughter subsided, they got up on their knees, and sat on either side of Jude. "But seriously, Jude, we know something's wrong. What is it?" Sadie asked, laying a hand on her sister's knee for support."

"It's just…things aren't the way they were." Jude explained lamely.

Georgia looked confused, "Well, Jude, you broke his heart. Did you really expect him to jump for joy when you came back? He's afraid you'll do that to him again."

Jude's eyes fell as she realized something she had never really thought of before, "I broke his heart," she stated hollowly, "Like he did to me?" The last part came out as a question.

Georgia nodded sympathetically at the younger woman, "But he fell about ten times harder than you ever did. He never expected you to do that. Not after all you'd been through."

"But, didn't he deserve a little heartache after all he put me through? Am I the only one who was expected to just get over it?" Jude asked, becoming a bit angry, but unshed tears covered the anger.

"Jude, sweetie, you were _never_ expected to get over it quickly, but he never broke off an engagement with you. He thought you were finally going to be all his, but you took it back."

Jude could not take it anymore. She fell back onto the couch again and hugged his guitar as close to her body as she could, not willing to let his smell leave her just yet.

"But it's not like I said I didn't want to be with him. I never said that."

"What exactly did you mean when you gave that speech about leaving at your last concert?" Georgia wondered aloud.

"I meant," Jude processed the questions through her mind, "exactly what I said. I needed to grow up. And I needed to try to live life without him being there, first. He has been the one I fell back on; the one I could trust above all others, since I was sixteen. I needed to find out who I was personally and musically without him. But I never considered not coming back to him. I didn't even date in London."

Sadie and Georgia just sat on either side of her gazing at her with awe. The girl that had been so unstable emotionally in her teen years, now sat between them, a twenty-two year old woman, who had most certainly grown up and found her own way.

Outside, Tommy was sitting on a box, in the alley behind G-Major. His eyes were closes and his head was resting on his hands. He had to think things over. He was not expecting this at all. No one had informed him of the obviously very well planned-out return. He had simply been working late on Milo's new track and heard noise outside. Then, when he came out, he saw her, the girl who had so carelessly left him behind. The one girl who he thought would never leave him; the one he truly trusted. He was caught off-guard. And he hated that. After Jude left him, he swore to himself, he would never let himself get that attached to anyone else. At least not romantically; he needed his friends, they kept him sane.

Just as he was thinking of them, sure enough, his two best friends walked through the back door, looking for him, most likely. He really had no idea how their friendships came about. Honestly, just a few years ago, he would have liked nothing more than for both of them to just fall off the face of the earth. But, Spiederman had certainly matured, no longer _quite_ the immature teenager he once was. Although, as he'd seen earlier, when Jude's around, he's most likely not going to be able to let that part of him go. Spied's one desire in life had changed from ruining Tommy's life to devoting himself to his marriage, and his newest family member, who was on the way. Married life certainly had done wonders for his character. He was now much more responsible and aware of how his actions can affect others.

On the other hand, there was Milo. Their friendship had not developed in such a healthy way. They both had a newly found interest. This may or may not have been, insulting Jude. Now, while it tore another hole through Tommy's heart every time he had to say something against Jude, at the same time, he considered it healing in a way. Although, looking back at it now, both he and Milo regret ever dealing with Tommy's pain over Jude that way. Milo had fallen off his pedestal after his first album ended up almost as bad as Jude's third. In retrospect, this was not such a surprising occurrence. Tommy was not fully into the producing chair, his mind would usually end up back on a beautiful blond, living the dream 

without him. On Milo's end, he just thought he was the best there was, but there was a _lot_ he needed to learn.

Milo and Spied both came over and leaned back against the brick wall behind his box. He looked to each of them, and received a look of understanding, but obvious uncertainty in how they should handle this new revelation. Spied had not been told of Jude's homecoming until a few minutes before the party. Everyone else knew he could not keep a secret from Tommy.

"Wow," Milo remarked, at a loss of words.

Tommy nodded wordlessly.

"Damn," Spied said, not sure what else to say.

Tommy pushed his lips together in his famous pout, and nodded.

"So, Tom, how do you feel about this. About her. I mean, being back. I mean, like back –" Milo stuttered.

"Milo! I know what you mean, already!" Tommy yelled, exasperated at his friend's uncertainty.

"Sorry, man. So how do you feel? That concise enough for you?" Milo asked, worried for his friend's sanity.

"Yeah, thanks. And, I don't know how I feel." He continued at the looks the other men were giving him, "No, really. I mean, I feel so much. I feel angry at her for leaving. I feel annoyed at her for not explaining why she left. I feel confused as to why I wasn't enough for her. I feel exuberant now that she's back. I also feel overwhelmed because I have no idea how to deal with this."

"Wow," Milo repeated.

"Damn," Speid said again.

"Exactly."


	4. Chapter 4

E.J. sat quietly at her desk, fervently typing up a report from a recent press conference. She glanced up, irked from being interrupted, to see a most jubilant Karma standing in her doorway. E.J. almost told her to go away before she saw the look Karma had become famous for; the one, which meant she was up to something. Once she noticed the one quirked eyebrow, along with the dimpled smirk, E.J. was out of her chair and onto the couch in an instant.

E.J. stared incredulously at the fellow brunette still standing in her doorway, seemingly in no hurry at all to move and share this obviously juicy news.

"Karma! Come on! What are you waiting for? Sit down, explain." She drew out this last syllable with a hint of desperation in her voice, while motioning toward the empty space of her couch. E.J. wanted this. E.J. _needed_ this. The studio had been dry of any and all gossip there normally was. No scandal, no secrecy. What had her world come to? She posed this question in her mind, while she anxiously awaited her long lost lifeline to be reinstated. She knew it _had_ to have to do with Jude. Her returning was the best thing that had happened to her in weeks. She knew there was a reason she – wait, no, she had never liked Jude. Well, now there is a reason to. If only Karma would spill the beans.

"Okay, so guess what?" Karma squealed excitedly.

E.J. rolled her eyes, "What?" she asked impatiently.

"Tommy and Jude totally want to be with each other," she thought about this a moment, "again."

E.J. groaned, clearly frustrated. "_This_ is your big news?"

E.J. put her head in her hands, as Karma nodded sheepishly.

"Okay, Karma, listen. Of _course,_ they want to be with each other. Of _course_ they do. Those two are made for each other. But just because something should happen, does not mean that it's going to happen. Tommy and Jude will never let go of the past and other baggage for long enough to see that it really won't have that much of an impact, if they would just let go. But no. Don't even think about it. Tommy and Jude together will _never_ happen. Wait, how did you come to this conclusion, anyway?"

Karma seemed to perk right up at the question she had been waiting for, "Directly from Jude and Spiedy."

"Spiedy? I mean, Spied? I mean, Vincent? What does _he_ have to do with this?" She asked, skepticism ebbing into her voice.

"He heard it right from Tommy. Well, almost."

At this point, E.J. gave up her faith in Karma's gossiping abilities and picked up a file from her desk, flipping through it.

"How almost?" She asked, halfheartedly.

Karma huffed, annoyed at this sudden lack of interest on E.J.'s part. "Well, he could tell. It was _obvious_ he wanted to be with her." She paused, to register the other woman's reaction. Nothing. She continued, "He was acting like a hormonal teenage girl! He couldn't get his feelings straight!"

This made a change of expression wave over E.J.'s face. If there was one thing Tom Quincy did not do, it was let his feelings show to anyone, especially another male. That is, unless Jude's sudden return had rattled him enough. An evil glint appeared in her eyes, as she looked up from her pile of papers, letting them fall to the floor.

"Same with Jude?" E.J. could already see where this was heading. And it was good. Very, very good.

"Well, from my eavesdropping standpoint, I'd say she is deep in denial."

E.J. smile grew into a wide grin, as she simply stated, "Let's get to work."

* * *

Jude awoke the next morning to an annoying tapping on her forehead.

Whoever you are, you _obviously_ have a death wish," she mumbled angrily. Once she regained consciousness fully, she figured that whatever was causing her strife would be dissuaded by her throwing a pillow at it. So, that's exactly what she did.

"Hey!" A surprised yell came from her sister, whose voice was slightly muffled by the pillow now laying on top of her. "You could have just told me to stop," she grumbled quietly, as she replaced the pillow by her sister's head.

"Sadie, go away!" She griped, vigorously shoving the pillow over her head.

"Okay, okay, I'm going."

Jude, satisfied, settled back down to sleep to her heart's content. Although, if she had looked up at her sister's mischievous smile, she may have been more prepared for what was about to take place.

When Sadie poked her head back in a few minutes later, she narrowed her eyes in competition. If this was what it had to come down to, then so be it. Jude had it coming to her. Literally. That aroma; it filled the air. It made its way slowly to the sleeping form on the bed. Jude felt it, though her nose, she could taste it in her mouth, and she could almost _hear_ its presence.

She weakly opened her eyes, "Coffee," she said as she wildly grasped the air around her in an attempt to grasp the cup.

"No, no, no, Judey," Sadie said in a baby voice, "you have to come get it yourself. From way over here."

Jude juggled her two options in her head quickly. She could either go back to sleep or – oh, who was she kidding? She could never go back to sleep with that sweet smell of freshly brewed coffee infiltrating her ever sense.

She bolted up from bed, grabbing the cup of coffee from Sadie as she passed by, and sped down the stairs until she was on the couch, remote in hand. Sadie chuckled quietly at her sister's predictability. Well, at least she was out of bed. "Jude, Georgia said she wanted to talk to you about something today. Think you could maybe come in with me?"

"What could possibly be so important that I need to come in so early?" Jude asked, becoming increasingly suspicious of her sister's motives.

"Oh, I don't know, Jude, just come on, we need to leave. Go get dressed!"

* * *

Georgia was half walking, half running across the lobby of G-Major, when she saw Jude in her peripheral vision. "Ah, Jude! Come on, in my office! Thank you!"

After this instruction, she turned on her heel and made a beeline in the opposite direction, back toward her office. She set the box she had just received down on her desk and shoved it out of the way, so she had a clear view of Jude on the other side. "So Jude, how are you enjoying being back, so far?"

Jude looked uncertain as she answered quickly, "Good, good. Georgia, why am I here?"

Georgia smiled at the very direct question. Only Jude would have cut to the chase that quickly. "Well, Ms. Harrison, I would like to formally invite you back into the G-Major family," she announced, as she slid a piece of paper and a ballpoint pen toward the younger woman.

Jude stared at the paper, stupefied for a moment. "A contract?"

"Yes, Jude. A contract. I figured you wouldn't want to give music up completely."

"A two-year contract, Georgia? I mean, really, I've had enough with the fame. I stopped now because my albums weren't selling. I don't want to sing anymore." Jude waited for Georgia to dismiss her, but it didn't happen. All she heard was an amused sigh.

"Jude, just read the contract, already."

Jude took the piece of paper in her hands, and after reading over it, looked up at Georgia, with pure joy in her eyes. "You mean to tell me, you're offering me a job producing?"

Georgia had a proud smile on her face as she nodded the affirmative. "Yeah, I figure you could start out co-producing, and then eventually, once I'm confident enough in your talents, you can go on your own."

Jude's eyes widened in disbelief. She grabbed the pen from the desk, scrawled her name on the signature line, and handed it to Georgia. "Thank you, so much, Georgia!"

"You're welcome, Jude. When did you want to start?"

"Tomorrow?" Jude asked, excited.

Georgia laughed lightly at her obvious enthusiasm. "Sure, come see me tomorrow at eight o'clock sharp, we still need to iron a few things out."

Jude ran out of Georgia office, literally, skipping. She almost didn't hear Georgia yell back at her, "That means A.M., Jude!"

* * *

Sadie sat on the living room couch, reading a magazine, when she heard Jude come in. "Oh, um, Jude? Could you come over here for a moment? I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Sure, Sadie, what is it?"

"Well," Sadie began, before placing her magazine down on the table, "I wanted to ask you a question."

"Okay, like I said," Jude said, "What is it?"

"Jude, will you be my maid-of-honor?"

Jude sat there for a moment, staring at Sadie, blinking quickly, and attempting to make sense of the question. Finally, coming back to reality, Jude asked, "Since when are you getting married?"

Sadie looked down for while she admitted, "Since two weeks ago."

"Two weeks? Sadie, two weeks? Why didn't you tell me? You never even told me you were dating!"

"Jude, calm down. Now, I'm sorry about not telling you, I really am. It's just, I knew you wouldn't approve of him, so I decided not to tell you until I knew for sure whether it was serious or not. And then, I was just plain scared to tell you. You know, you're really not an easy person to tell unpleasant things to, but I thought that maybe—"

"Sades, you're rambling. Now, of course I will be your maid-of-honor, but I have to ask, who are you marrying?"

Sadie took a deep breath before replying, "Milo."


	5. Chapter 5

"Okay, so I think we've about wrapped up here. Welcome to G-Major, again." Georgia smiled warmly at Jude as she fidgeted excitedly in her seat. "You're going to be in studio B, okay?"

"Alright, thank you _so_ much, Georgia, I won't let you down!" Jude promised, walking out the door.

As Jude walked through the lobby of G-Major, she marveled at all the changes that did not seem like changes. This is how G-Major was supposed to look; simple, pure, R&R. It was better than the golden glam Darius had put on it. Georgia Bevans knew how to run a record label. Jude stepped through the threshold of Studio B, which she had become so accustomed to coming into and leaving at unearthly hours in teenage years. She now had a new appreciation for what she had back then. In London, she was part of a huge, impersonal music empire. The name Jude Harrison was just that, a name. There was no person attached to it. At least no one that was worth it enough to get to know. Nevertheless, Jude took it in stride, as a learning experience. Learning that, no matter what, Canada would always love her, and not only as a double platinum artist, but for who she was.

Jude took a deep breath to stop the hyperventilation coming over her. She slid the door to Studio B open, revealing a trio of kindergarteners. Or, were they adults? She leaned her head against the wall as she laughed lightly at the scene in front of her. Tommy had Milo in a headlock, while simultaneously running away from Spied, who held a bottle of some sort of stick liquid, threatening to poor it over his head. Jude assumed the intercom between rooms was still on, because all three looked up at the sound of her laugh.

"Jude!" Milo seemed ecstatic to see her. "How are you?" Well, she thought he was happy to see her, but now it just seemed like he was gauging her reaction. Jude's eyebrows knitted together, at a loss as to why he would be looking at her like that. And then it hit her. The engagement. Of course.

'_Hmm_,' Jude thought, '_maybe I can have a little fun with this_. _Make him sweat_.' She relaxed her face, then put in place a sugary-sweet smile. But there was mischief behind those blue eyes of hers.

"Milo, I'm pretty good. How about you? What's new?" She asked, seemingly oblivious to her sister's news. Milo missed the mischievous edge to her voice. So did Spied. But Tommy didn't buy into her antics.

"Oh, uh, well…nothing, really," Milo stammered, bewildered by her lack of information. '_Why hasn't Sadie told her? _'_He_ wondered. Spied just stood stock-still, unsure of what to do. Tommy, on the other hand, decided to help Jude out in petrifying his friend.

"But, Milo, dude, aren't you going to tell your future sister-in-law about your new song?" Milo stared at Tommy like he had grown a second head. Tommy smiled back.

Jude's eyes widened in fake shock, "Sister-in-law? What's he talking about, Milo?"

Milo's jaw dropped considerably and his throat went dry. "Well, I –"

Just then, Sadie Harrison walked in and stopped in front of the intercom, "Milo, honey, after you're finished here, we need to go over wedding colors. What do you say about lunch?"

Tommy and Jude doubled over in laughter as they watched Milo nearly choke over the saliva in his mouth.

Sadie was confused, "Did I miss the punch line?"

Jude sobered up first, "We actually had Milo believing that I didn't know about the wedding yet. And then Tommy mentioned it. You should have _seen_ his face."

Sadie closed her eyes and chuckled under her breath at her fiancé. "Oh, Jude. So glad to have you back!" Sadie hugged her sister as she walked out, and glanced back over her shoulder at Milo, "Lunch, okay?"

Milo, still miffed at being tricked by Jude, just nodded once in their direction, "Yeah."

Sadie laughed audibly at his response as she slid the door shut behind her.

"Great, my former foe has outsmarted me, and she's only been back for, what, three days?"

"Oh, Milo, we weren't really _foes_, per se. I mean, you kiss me to get on my world tour, then drop me and call me a washout when said tour was cancelled. Not much of a history to be called foes, you think?"

Spied and Tommy immediately stopped what they were doing and gaped at Jude. "Kissed?" They screamed in unison.

Jude groaned, massaging her forehead with her hand. "Could we skip this? I mean, he's marrying my sister."

"Exactly, he's kissed you and is engaged to your _sister_!" Spied said, disgusted.

"Oh, but Spied, technically, you are the only one in that room who _hasn't_ been in that situation before." She said it as a joke, but the tension it caused in the room was felt before the entire sentence was out.

"So, yeah. Milo, Spied, get out, Jude and I need to get to work. Wait, scratch that, Milo get out. Spied, Jude, and I need to get to work." Tommy said quickly, trying to smother the awkward moment with work.

This certainly brought Jude's thoughts to something else. "Wait, work? With you? I'm coproducing. With you." Realization finally dawned on her.

"Who else, Harrison?" He asked, smirking.

Jude's eyes widened, "Oh, Georgia is _dead_."

Tommy's eyes crinkled as he gave her a small smile, "Just make sure she signs my paycheck before you do that, okay?"

"Oh, ha ha." Jude narrowed his eyes at him mockingly.

Tommy rolled his eyes, "Well, Milo, why don't you go take a break while I reintroduce Jude to the soundboard?"

"Yeah, sure."

Tommy turned his attention back to Jude, who had not taken her eyes off him the entire time. "Got something to say, Big Eyes? Then say it."

She turned her attention abruptly back to the soundboard. "So what do you say we get started on my 'reintroduction' as you called it."

Tommy quirked an eyebrow at her, "As I called it? And what would you call it?"

"You do realize that I've been singlehandedly producing my own records for the past five years, now, right?"

"Five years? They didn't put you all alone from the beginning, did they?" He asked, incredulous.

Jude sighed at the lonely memory of London, "Yeah, it seems I don't _completely_ suck as a producer."

He took a step closer to her, "No one ever said you sucked."

Jude laid her head to the side as she stared curiously back at him, "But you seemed to be under the impression that leaving me alone to do an album was a bad decision."

Tommy's eyes widened and put on a mocking smile as he spoke in a hushed, gentle tone, "But, Girl, we both know you learned from the best. And no one can take that learning experience away from you."

Jude sidled closer to him by sitting on the soundboard. She was sure she knew where this conversation was going. And she realized she wasn't totally against it. She hadn't had these feelings in a long time, and it was nice to feel that warm tingling in the pit of her stomach again.

Tommy leaned in to her ear, as he touched the small of her back. She gasped audibly and blushed out of embarrassment. Tommy smiled as he whispered in her ear, "No sitting on the soundboard," and pushed her off the soundboard with his hand.

Jude stared down at her feet embarrassedly, still blushing from his former proximity. "You're evil, you know."

He sighed, "You know I had to do it."

"Ah, yes, you enjoy embarrassing me."

"Well, is it my fault that you look like a teenager when you blush like that?" Tommy asked with an evil glint in his eyes.

"But I'm not a teenager anymore, Tommy." Jude took another step toward him.

Tommy took a deep breath and the smell of Jude's perfume attacked his senses. He put his arms out and she stepped into his embrace.

"I missed you, Tommy." Jude said.

"You too, Girl."

They shared a moment of comfortable silence.

"So what do you say we get started on the soundboard?"


	6. Chapter 6

**(A/N:) Sorry I've been so late on this update. I got something down today and had to post it, no matter the length. I'm about to have a ton more time on my hands, though, so I should be updating more after this.**

**~Marianna G.  
**

* * *

Sadie Harrison focused on the clicking of her stilettos on the hard floor as she walked. Having Jude back was nice, but she was beginning to worry that her arrival would bring that drama back into her life. Jude had been so drowned since the age of fifteen in the spotlight of the media. Just as these thoughts made their way through her head, she walked past Studio B; movement from inside caught her attention. Sadie stopped and stood aside as she watched the interaction from within the studio. Jude was standing up, shaking her head furiously every time Tommy raised his head from his hands to say something. Although they were obviously arguing, Sadie could see the same signs she had seen so long ago, just as predominant as ever. Neither of them had gotten over the other, not even remotely. She jumped as she felt something grab her from behind.

"Milo," she breathed, as he snaked his arms fully around her waist.

"Well, hello beautiful," he told her and kissed her sweetly on the cheek.

Milo followed her gaze through the glass door of Studio B. "What do you think is going to happen between those two?" he asked softly.

"Nothing and everything at once, if they stick to the normal routine." She said, "They won't even know what's happened until it already has."

They continued looking at the pair for a few more minutes in silence. During these few minutes, Jude seemed to have calmed down and they got back to work. Watching their movements was mesmerizing; every time one of them reached over to mess with a switch on the soundboard, the other would move unknowingly to work around them – effortless. This magic continued until Spied finished recording and came back into the studio. As Sadie and Milo walked away, a new conversation began in the studio.

"So, how was I, Dude?" Spied asked Jude.

"Awesome, amazing, mind-blowing. How many more adjectives do you need?" She screamed excitedly.

"Whoa, Tom, what did you give Jude?" Spied questioned, eyes bugging out at his friend's response.

Tommy groaned aloud. "Coffee. Lots and lots of coffee."

"Oh no, man, come on, why would you _do_ that? You know what it does to her!" Spied chastised, glancing warily at Jude, who had a huge smile on her face. Tommy hung his head at his bad memory.

"Oh, come on, guys, I'm not _that_ bad!" Jude said in her defense.

Spied laughed, "Dude, you probably couldn't even walk a straight line right now."

Jude pretended to think it over for a few seconds, "Could so."

Spied and Tommy rolled their eyes at her in unison. Jude giggled.

"Alright, Jude, how about you go sober up? Get the caffeine out of your system." Tommy suggested.

"You're just trying to get rid of me," Jude mumbled under her breath, as she left.

After she was a safe distance away, Spied moved from his spot on the couch to Jude's recently vacated seat. "So…" he began, hinting that Tommy should tell him what was going on between him and Jude.

"So? What so?" Tommy asked.

"You know what so! Jude so!" Spied drew out Jude's name, his voice thick with exasperation.

"Oh, uh, _Jude_ so." Tommy thought this over for a moment, "Well, sorry, nothing to tell on the Jude so front."

Spied raised an eyebrow at his friend skeptically, "Nothing? Really? Then those looks you were giving her really weren't screaming, 'Jude, I need you in my pants, now?'"

Tommy burst out laughing at his friend's interpretation of the interaction. There was nothing going on between him and Jude. Not anymore, at least. And he was fine with that.

* * *

Jude walked over to Sadie's desk. She had calmed down a little from her caffeine high, but when she had gone back to the studio, she had seen Tommy and Spied in what seemed to be a private conversation, so she decided to stay away for a few more minutes.

"Hey Sades," Jude greeted her sister, sighing.

Sadie raised her head up from her computer and tilted her head to the side, looking at her sister worriedly. "What's wrong, sis?"

Jude collapsed on the edge of her desk before replying, "Nothing. I'm just so emotionally stretched out right now." At Sadie's probing stare she continued, "Well, you know, there are just no 'stop' moments. I've just gotten back a few days ago, and it's like jumping straight into a pool. You know the cold will be overwhelming at first, but you'll get used to it. I hope I can get used to this."

Sadie gave her sister a small smile, "You will. You're strong, Jude. You've dealt with so much more than most twenty-two year olds I know." She thought her statement over for a moment, "Hell, you've dealt with so much more than most fifty year olds I know. You can and you _will_ do this."

Jude smiled gratefully at her sister, but that smile was soon wiped away, as Sadie continued, "And I know Tommy is a lot to handle for anybody, I can only imagine, with your history, how confusing this must be."

Jude stuttered over her next words, "But, um, Sadie…wait what? I, what…where did that come from?"

Sadie's eyes bugged out at Jude , "You mean to tell me you're not feeling any…i_nternal turmoil _after spending all that _quality time_ together today?"

Jude answered with a small chuckle, "Well, there's no turmoil there, that's for sure. That was teenage Jude. This is adult Jude. Adult Jude knows what she wants." Jude stopped Sadie, as she opened her mouth to say something, "And that is _not_ Tommy. Look out, Canada, Jude Harrison is officially open for anything."

Sadie laughed at her sister. "Anything? Like, possibly going with me and Milo to a new club opening tonight?"

Jude's mouth started to turn up at the edges, "Sounds great, except for the whole third-wheel thing."

"But, see, we'll go, _I _will dress you, you will look hot and soon, you'll no longer be a third wheel." Sadie said, smirking.

Jude looked up at her sister, amused, "Sure."

Jude turned and thought, as she walked away, '_This is going to be a long night.'_

_

* * *

  
_


	7. Chapter 7

**(A/N:) Okay, so I'm wondering. What would my readers prefer? Shorter posts, more frequently, or longer posts less frequently? Please let me know. This is my shortest chapter yet, but it felt like it ended at a good place and I wanted to know the answer of my question. I would have just put up an author's note, but I hate it when I get a story alert and then it's an author's note, so I decided to post this with it. And, while you're reviewing, you might as well add a little constructive criticism. Or praise, whichever works best for you! :)**

**~Marianna G.  
**

* * *

"Jude, hurry up!" Sadie stood at the foot of the staircase of her house, with Milo already in the car, ready to pull out of the driveway.

Jude glanced at herself in Sadie's full-length mirror. She was wearing a simple red halter dress, which, in her opinion, showed _way_ too much leg. Sadie had paired this with some bright red stilettos that Jude was _sure_ to trip over at least once throughout the night. No matter how she tried, she would never be as poised as Sadie would in heels. She sighed and pushed her hair behind her ears, "Coming!" she answered, finally. Rushing down the staircase, Jude saw Sadie holding the door open for her with one hand and in the other, she held out a jacket to her. "Thanks, Sades," she said, walking out the door.

As they got in the car and drove off, silence followed. Jude was not used to spending much time with Milo, at all. Nevertheless, she supposed if Sadie was marrying him, he must have some redeeming qualities. Sadie did not fall for just anybody.

"So, Milo, how are things going on your new album?" She asked, attempting a smile.

Milo, caught off-guard by her question replied simply, "Good."

"That's good," Jude said, feeling even more of the awkward silence, now.

Sadie saw the attempted interaction as a good sign, and decided to help out a bit, "Well, you know, Jude, Tommy produces Milo, so you will probably be working with him on it eventually."

"Oh really? That'll be nice. I like your music, it's relaxing." Jude said, trying a compliment. It worked.

"Thanks, that means a lot coming from you. So, what are you most excited about being in Toronto again?" He replied, easing into the conversation, surprisingly quickly. Maybe this guy wasn't so bad, after all.

"Mainly just being back with Sadie and everyone else. I really missed everything, even G-Major. You know, the place may have its problems, but at least people care about you there. I walked into a five-story branch of a music empire in London. G-Major's smaller and more personal. And it's home."

Milo smiled at her, through the rearview mirror. "I hope we can get back on a better foot, Jude. Really, I know I was just an idiot a few years ago. But I was a cocky, overeager teenager, just getting into the business. I'm sure you can understand that, right?"

She laughed lightly of the memory of her first day at G-Major, "Yeah, trust me; I gave Tommy enough grief when I first won 'Instant Star' to last a lifetime, just because I didn't want him tampering with my song."

They settled into a more comfortable silence than before, thinking about their pasts. Then, a thought occurred to Jude, "Wait, I've never been told how you two got together. No offense, but you are the two last people I would expect to be together."

Sadie groaned at the memory. "Well, Milo went down in perfect Jude style, of course. He wrote a song about me, actually using my name, though, and played it over the speakers at work. The entire building heard him asking me out," Sadie said thoughtfully. "And, you know, with everybody else watching, it just makes it seem rude to say no," she added sarcastically.

"Hardy har har. You're hilarious, Ms. Harrison." Milo spoke dryly, trying to hide the amusement in his voice.

Finally, they pulled up to the parking lot of the club. To hide from the paparazzi, they slid in the back way, as inconspicuously as possible. As they walked through the backstage crowd, Jude saw a familiar large, bald man standing across the way from her. "D?" she asked.

Darius Mills turned around, searching for whoever had called his name. Suddenly, his eyes focused on a blonde girl – no, woman – whom he had not seen in five years. "Jude Harrison!" His voice boomed.

"In the flesh," she said as she walked up and gave him a hug. Darius may have seemed like a big bully sometimes, but he was as soft as a teddy bear on the inside.

"Wow," he said, as they stepped back. He looked her up and down, "Jude, you are no longer a teenager; you've become a full-fledged woman." Darius said this fondly and proudly. She was like a daughter to him, he had watched her grow physically and emotionally through so much.

* * *

Later, on the car ride back to her house, Sadie was chastising her. "You know, Jude, only you would make it through the night, making sure no guy had the chance to even _think_ about starting a conversation with you."

"On the contrary, I did talk to a few guys," Jude retorted.

"Jude, I'm not going to tell you again, yes, you talked to a _few -_ as in three. And Darius, Milo, and the bartender don't count." Sadie said, depressed by the unfulfilling events of the night. "Now, if you had _flirted _with the bartender that may have made a difference. But you just kept ordering water."

"Sadie, we're here, drop it. I'll see you in the morning, bright and early." Jude bid her sister goodnight. "Oh, good night, Milo. Get her home safely."

Before he drove off, he gave her a simple, "I'll do my best."

Jude stood outside her old house and watched the car drive away, until it got to the end of the street and turn the corner. She walked back inside the house, went up to her bedroom and fell asleep exactly as she was. This night had exhausted her.


	8. Chapter 8

_Ring, ring._ Tommy groaned. _Ring, ring._ He pulled the covers over his head. _Ring, ring._ "Fine, I'll answer the phone, at," he glanced at the clock, "freaking two o'clock in the morning!" He answered the phone, "_What?_"

An annoyingly familiar voice came through the receiver, "Tommy, it's E.J." He remained silent, waiting. "Fine, I'll talk. Georgia says the deadline for Milo's album's been moved up two months." More silence. "Which means, you and Jude need to get to work, planning." More silence. E.J. sighed, "Tommy, are you even there, anymore?"

Tommy rolled his eyes, "Physically, yeah. Mentally, not so much."

"You're hilarious. Really, you have no idea," she replied dryly. "Anyway, you heard what I said, right?"

"Yeah, but I don't get why you felt the need to wake me up, instead of telling me in the morning."

E.J. sighed again, "Because, I need you to work on that, _now._"

Tommy sat up in bed, "What do you mean, now?" He could almost envision E.J. slamming her head against the wall.

"I mean, that I want you. To get out of bed. Get dressed. Go to Jude's house. And _work on the damn album_!"

Tommy's eyes widened at the realization of what he may have to do. Be alone with Jude. '_Well_,' he thought to himself, '_This isn't going to make getting over her any easier._' "Alright, E.J., and what does working on it now, and working on it, say, in a few hours, do for any of us?"

"Well, for starters, you get to keep your job," she began.

"Oh, don't give me that," he tried to cut her off.

"_Georgia_ says. So, I suggest you get started." And with that, she hung up on him.

E.J. turned to glance at her coconspirator. "Well done," Karma commended her, "We'll just see where this takes them."

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Tommy grabbed his stuff out of the backseat of his car, and turned to go up the walkway to the Harrisons' – or make that, Harrison's, singular, - house. He had tried phoning Jude before he left the house, but she hadn't answered. Before he saw her car in the driveway, he was just praying she would actually be here. He didn't get out of bed at two A.M. for nothing. Tommy made his way up to Jude's doorstep and knocked.

No answer. He tried again.

No answer. He banged on the door this time. "Okay, okay! Who is it?" he heard a shout from inside the house. Then feet clomping down the stairs. The door opened to reveal a very disheveled Jude.

"Hey," he said, weakly. She gave him an odd look.

"Tommy, what are you doing here?" she managed to get out, amongst a yawn.

He sighed and leaned against the doorframe, "Don't flatter yourself or anything, E.J. called, we need to get a head start on Milo's album."

"Milo's album?" She ran her fingers through her hair. "But we're not scheduled to formally start on anything until next week." Tommy held up his hand; he could sense a rant from a sleep-deprived Jude coming on any minute now.

"Listen, I know, I know. The deadline got moved up and we have to finalize Spied's album this week, so E.J. sent me over here to get some extra work on Milo's album done."

Jude bit her tongue and glanced up at him, "Okay, then. Come on in." Tommy made his way into the foyer of the house and laid down his stuff. He could sense Jude's discomfort and decided to help her out.

"Alright, so I guess we should, maybe, start with a few songs? That would give us some major headway."

Jude moved to sit on the couch, "Songs? Doesn't Milo write his own?"

"Well, he usually writes a few and I put together the rest. We consult each other on all the songs, though." He said.

Jude smiled; this was something she could do. And to be honest, she had missed writing with Tommy. No matter what she wrote, it never really did sound perfect; the way it had with Tommy.

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After three hours of songwriting, Jude's legs were slung over the back of the couch, her head on the cushions, and Tommy had his legs resting comfortably on Jude's stomach, with his head on the opposite end of the couch. Jude groaned and closed her eyes, tossing her head back, toward the floor. Tommy's eyes softened as he watched her. Her blonde hair was tucked in at odd angles, the result of her unrelenting focus on the songs at hand. Her face looked so peaceful; not to mention how her legs looked, coming out of those tiny pajama shorts she was wearing. Through these last few hours, Tommy had sensed a seemingly lost sense of normalcy returning to their relationship. "Jude," he murmured softly.

She smiled, eyes still closed, "Hmm?"

"You wanna maybe get a little sleep, before we have to go into the studio? Cause that's in about," he checked his watch, "Two and a half hours, now." Jude sat up and turned on the couch, facing him.

"Nah, I'm up now, it's just gonna make it a whole lot more painful for me to get up later." Tommy laughed.

"Painful, Harrison?" He gave her a teasing expression. Jude got on her knees and leaned over him, to get face-to-face with him.

"Yes, painful. Would you like me to show you what that means?" She broke through the stone-faced façade she held before, and started giggling. Her giggling fit caused her to fall on top of Tommy. Jude gasped. Some people felt firecrackers go through their bodies, when they touched the one they loved, but there was no name she could come up with for what was happening to her now. It was as if, from the moment she felt Tommy underneath her, all the breath left her body, but she could breathe better than she ever had before; all guards had disappeared, but she had never felt more secure. She felt her head being drawn up, to look Tommy in the eyes. "Your eyes," she whispered softly.

"Are holding up the sky," he whispered back, just as delicately, before sweeping her lips up into a passionate kiss. This kiss held all the pent up emotions they had been feeling: the frustration, the anger, the regret, the desire and ultimately, the love. They pulled back, and slowly breathed in the pure essence of the other.

"Whoa," Jude whispered, her voice barely audible.

"Tell me about it," Tommy replied, still dazed from the kiss. He searched her eyes, but he came up with no clear answers. In her eyes, he saw the struggle between their past, and what could be their future. But he couldn't tell which side was winning. "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking...that I'm tired of thinking." Tommy looked at her, confused. "I'm tired of letting our baggage get in the way of us."

"Us?" Tommy asked, hopeful. Jude smiled in return.

"Us," she said as she leaned in, again, to kiss him.

* * *

**(A/N:) Okay, so I don't know about any of you, but I am incredibly proud of the end of this chapter. Any questions, comments, complaints? Please review and I'll get back to you, if necessary. I hope everyone had a great holiday and continues to enjoy the season.**

**~Marianna G. **


	9. Chapter 9

"No!" Hasty chattering comes from the phone. "Listen, I don't _care_ how 'terribly sorry' you are. Does that change the fact that we are now without gold letters spelling 'Darius'? No, I didn't think so! I want those letters! Yeah, well, right back at you, pal!" Jude walked up to her sister's desk, as Sadie slammed the phone back down.

"Hey…Sadie," she greeted her hesitantly. Sadie's cheeks burned with chagrin.

"Oh, Jude, yeah, that was…nothing," Sadie said, and then proceeded to talk her way out of a potentially embarrassing situation.

Jude waved it off, "Not by business, Sades." Sadie would not take this. Jude would end up using this as blackmail later on; she just knew it.

"Oh no, no. You see, it's just that it's Darius' birthday next week," she began explaining.

Jude whistled, "Nice birthday gift. And, of course, for Darius, it would _have_ to be solid gold."

"Of course." Jude's eyes bugged out.

"You mean to tell me that you are eating up yours and Milo's paychecks to give Darius, of all people, _Darius_, a birthday gift?"

Sadie rolled her eyes, "Yes, and I'm also getting you a new Porsche for your birthday."

"Hey, whatever floats your boat," Jude laughed. Sadie sighed and put down the screen of her laptop.

"No, the gift is from Georgia, courtesy of G-Major." Jude laughed again.

"And _how_ would Georgia ever think to get him gold letters spelling out his name?" Jude paused for a moment. "Actually, come to think of it, that is the perfect gift for him. It mixes the 'bling-bling' with the narcissistic overlord he's made himself up to be."

"Jude, I don't analyze the gift choices, I just place the order."

"And apparently, terrorize the salespeople, to boot." Sadie sighed, aggravated. She wanted off this subject, _now_.

"Not that this isn't absolutely fascinating, but I want to know why you seem so chipper this morning. Anything you'd like to tell your big sister?" Sadie batted her mascara-clad eyelashes. Jude looked at a loss.

"Not anything in particular, I guess I'm just in a good mood today."

Sadie quirked an eyebrow, "Mhm." She sounded as though she hadn't believed a word of what Jude had said. "Really now?" She gave up on trying to get it out of Jude that way, and began pouting. "Oh, come on, tell me! I'm dying here!"

Jude pretended to think it over, "Hmm, maybe it's the new coffee from Starbucks? I tried that this morning, it was _good._" Sadie looked defeated. "You really should try it," she added, as she walked away.

Jude chuckled to herself as she walked toward Studio B. She and Tommy had decided to keep their newfound relationship – if you could call it that – a secret. Come to think of it, they had kept things a little vague when they discussed it this morning. All Jude knew, was that she was testing out these waters, but she wouldn't let herself get caught up in another tidal wave. Tommy had broken her heart more than once, and she didn't know how many more times it could be broken, before she ran out of remedies.

"Hey, girl" Tommy greeted her as she entered. She smiled softly in return.

"Hey," she said as she sat in the chair opposite him. "Shouldn't Spied be here?" Tommy's expression went from relaxed to agitated instantaneously.

"Yes, he should. But _something_ came up," he huffed. Jude let it go. If she got in a mood, now, she and Tommy would never be able to get any work done, which, with the new deadline on Milo's album, they desperately needed.

"Well, let's take advantage of this time, then," she said. Tommy grinned.

"But, at work? It's so…_wrong_," he teased as he scooted his chair closer to hers. Jude laughed as she pushed him away.

"Oh, you're _so_ irresistible, but I didn't mean _that_." Tommy looked confused.

"Then…what did you mean?" Jude rolled her eyes at him.

"How about actually getting some work done?" she began teasing him, "Now, wait, before you say anything, I know it sounds a little crazy and out there, but I think it just might work." Tommy burst out laughing.

"Oh, you _are_ a piece of work, Harrison," he said as he pulled her in close for a quick kiss. Jude looked horrorstricken as he pulled back.

"Are you crazy? What happened to keeping this quiet? Someone is _bound_ to walk in, and you know once someone knows something here, everyone knows," Jude rambled on. Tommy's eyebrows rose in amusement.

"I'm sorry, I'll never touch you again," he said in a mocking tone.

"Well, maybe sometimes." Jude continued, as Tommy opened his mouth to speak, "But not at G-Major."

"Well then, Ms. Harrison, where would you suggest I touch you?" Tommy and Jude were quiet for a few moments as they thought over Tommy's question. Jude was the first one to speak.

"Maybe we should just forget that question and rephrase?" She asked, smirking. Tommy smiled devilishly.

"Oh, but, that was _exactly_ what I meant." They both fell back into their chairs at this, laughing.

"But, come on, seriously, we need to get to work. Remember, we have a new deadline?" Jude said, anxious to get some work done. She knew when Spied got there, very little of that would be getting done.

"Okay fine," Tommy acquiesced.

* * *

Georgia tried to come up with the words, which would form the speech that Darius had requested for her to give at his birthday party being thrown by G-Major next week. She thought he was being a little risky asking _her_ to give the speech. Things had been going well between them, and she just hoped that they could stay that way. Last night, when she had seen Jude talking to Darius, she had been on the way back from the bathroom. '_Sometimes he just doesn't think of what repercussions these things could have,_' she thought, '_what if I hadn't seen Jude first? How would we have explained that away? Oh, yeah, a business meeting at ten o'clock at night…at a bar._' Georgia gave up and rested her head in her hands. What was she going to do?

A moment later, she heard a _ding_ come from her computer. She pulled the screen closer to her to see who had sent her an email.

**To: Georgia Bevans  
****From: Darius Mills  
****Subject: Party **

**G,**

**I want them to know. **

**Love, D**

Georgia sat in her seat, staring at her computer screen, flabbergasted, as she hastily pressed the 'Reply' button.

* * *

**(A/N:) Two chapters in two days, I'm on a roll! Please let me know what you think!**

**~Marianna G.**


	10. Chapter 10

A week had passed since Tommy had shown up at Jude's house in the middle of the night. Things were working out pretty well, but Jude decided to stretch it and go past just the three o'clock wake ups every morning. She picked up the telephone and punched in some all-too-familiar numbers.

"Hello?" The person on the other end answered.

"Hey," Jude said, wearing a big, but nervous, smile.

"Oh hey," Tommy said as recognition kicked in, "What's up?"

"I was just wondering if," Jude bit her lip, "Maybe we could go to dinner tomorrow night? You know, after D's party?"

Tommy smiled, though Jude could not tell over the phone, "Like a date?"

Jude hesitated, "Yes, like a date." Tommy's smile grew.

"I'd love to." He sighed. "Our first official date."

"Yeah," Jude said, the former nervousness seeping out, as she hung up.

* * *

Walking into G-Major, Tommy spotted his two best friends sitting across the lobby, trying to blend into the background. He gained the same pretense, as he looked more fully around him. All the women of G-Major were running around like crazy, decorating, making calls, and opening newly shipped packages to prepare for the party that was to take place later on that day.

"Milo!" Sadie Harrison called from behind them, "Where have you been, you said you would help me with the decorations." Milo's expression fell. "Well, then, if _that_ is the reaction you're going to have to helping me, maybe we shouldn't get married." She huffed off indigently. Milo just walked over to the couch and slumped down, with his eys closed. Tommy looked at his friend, concerned.

"Man, shouldn't you go talk to her? She just informally called off your wedding." He said. Milo just shook his head.

"That's the third time she's broken off the engagement this morning. She doesn't mean it. It's just what she does when she gets stressed." Spied and Tommy turned to look at him, eyebrows raised, "Yeah, I know, it's a little crazy, but I love her just the same." Tommy and Spied started laughing hysterically. "What?" Milo asked.

Tommy and Spied looked at each other, "I really don't know," Spied said, as Tommy shrugged his shoulders. "Sometimes the easiest thing to do is laugh."

* * *

E.J. stood in the midst of a room crowded with women trying on dresses. "No!" she yelled across the room. "That dress is for Karma, Sadie!" She listened. "I don't care if it says your name on it, it's for Karma!" Jude walked up to her. "Jude, go to makeup."

"I've already been to makeup." E.J. looked her over.

"Then go back, tell them to actually do something this time." Before Jude could protest, something else was brought to E.J.'s attention. "Sadie, no, that's for after your performance. Wait, performance? No, Sadie's just a guest." She paused. "Who's performing? Milo, why are you in the girls' dressing room? And take that hideous shirt off, wear the one I set out for you."

"I can't find that one."

"Well, wait a few minutes, I'll be come back there and find it." Milo sat down. "Not in here, you moron. Go back to the guys' dressing room."

"E.J., where's my hat?" Karma whined.

"You don't have a hat, why else would we have put your hair up?" she replied. "Jude, I thought I told you to – what is Darius doing here? He's not supposed to be here until later. Oh great, he's going toward Georgia's office, I have to go find her."

* * *

Georgia pulled back the door to her office slowly and peeked her head in. It felt nice to get away from E.J.'s craziness. She saw Darius sitting in her chair. She glared at him, joking. "Get out of my chair."

"Or what?" he inquired.

"Or…I'll…oh, I don't know. You know I'm not good with threats." He laughed at her. She sighed. "But, really, what are we going to do about tonight?"

"Well, it depends. What do you want to do?"

"I don't know. I'm just tired of the tabloids saying that we're dating!"

He hugged her, "Which is exactly why I think we should do this, G."

"But, on your birthday, really?" she asked. "I mean, I know it kind of would be the perfect time to do it. Mom would be here and everyone who we know would be here, but it would cause a lot of questions. I really don't think you should have to tell your life story on your birthday."

"Hey, it's a miracle it hasn't gotten out before. We managed to keep it away from all the kids at school. It will be a relief to have people know." He said, looking her in the eyes. "I want to do this."

She sighed, "Fine. But, I will tell everyone, in my speech. It's not right for you to have to worry with that. And I'll proof it a hundred times if I have to; to make sure it includes everything. Now, go, I have a speech to write." He smiled.

"Okay, see you in a few hours, sis."

* * *

E.J. stood once again, eyeing her performers. "Okay, the lineup is – wait, just a minute." She answered her phone, "This isn't a good time." Her eyes widened, "Darius! No, no, anytime is good for you." She listened, "Mhm. Yes. Okay." She closed her phone with a snap. "You're all free to go. No performers, I guess. Well, go!" she screamed, peeved. They all scattered, too afraid to ask any questions.

* * *

Georgia looked up from her computer screen to the printer. Her speech was printing. This was going to be a long night, she could already tell. She grabbed her speech off the printer and walked outside, to the stage, where her podium was standing. After setting the paper on the podium, she walked down and spotted Jude and Sadie, "Ah, my two favorite sisters, how are you?" They looked at her uneasily.

"We're fine, but I'm really starting to think everyone in this building has lost his sanity," Sadie said. Georgia didn't seem to be listening to the conversation, but instead, focusing on something far away. Or maybe something that was coming through the door.

"Jude, Sadie, Georgia!" he said, as he came over and hugged each of them.

"Happy birthday," Jude told him, lamely.

"Okay, Sadie, I think I'm going to have to agree with you on that last comment," Georgia commented, as she stared at Jude trying to make conversation. Sadie laughed. "Oh, you two, go stand by the door, people are starting to arrive. Darius, go get dressed!" Nervousness had begun to seep its way into her system, finally. She took a deep breath and began greeting the arriving guests.

* * *

Georgia looked around at the guests celebrating and realized it was about time for the gold-iced cake to be cut, which meant she needed to make her speech. Her speech, in her opinion, should not be followed by a celebration. More like isolation from the rest of the world, to dodge all of those questions, which she was sure would pierce her like bullets. There were things that she had never in her life been subjected to; the need to explain the relation of her and her brother, being one. All she had ever known, for as long as she can remember, was that he was her brother. She had known this since she was too young to know that a different skin color made any difference to anybody. She knew she was lucky to have Darius as a brother, because she, to this day, had a protector and someone who would be with her until the end. Their mother was still with him, but she was getting older, and no one knew how much longer she would be with them. He had taken over the job their father should have taken. But, her father was a skittish man; he never took responsibility for his actions, which led to him skipping town when he didn't know what to do, almost right after Darius went to live with them. Darius was the one who taught her to read, to ride a bike, to use money, to not put too much makeup on, to drive, and fill out a college application. He had been there with her, when their mother had first gone into the hospital when Georgia had been just fourteen. He had been twenty, and in college. He kept telling her he was about to break into the world of music. She had laughed. But her strong, loving, hard-working brother had actually done it. He deserved everything he'd gotten. She had never known anyone to give so much of themselves to someone he had met when he was nine. He had no obligation to her, really. But he took it upon himself to help his mother, when she was most vulnerable, and do things normal brothers in normal situations never had to do. He raised Georgia. He was the reason she knew so much about the music business and was able to achieve all she had. He was the strongest and most caring person she had ever known.

And that's how she explained to all of Darius' party guests and the paparazzi why they were seen together so much. Not because they were dating, but because they were siblings.

* * *

There were many tears after Georgia's speech, but after all questions had been asked and Georgia and Darius had been hugged by the majority of the guests, it settled down and they all began dancing and socializing again.

Jude, Tommy, Spied, Sadie, and Milo were all standing by the door, talking, when a girl who looked to be about seventeen walked in. "Um, hi. I don't know if I came at a bad time or anything, but I was looking for a Sadie Harrison? I got directed here by her doorman," she told the group. Sadie stepped forward, looking at the girl curiously.

"I'm Sadie Harrison."

Tears welled up in the young girl's eyes and began to overflow. Before any of them had a chance to think, the girl had thrown herself at Sadie. Her arms were wrapped tight around her body and her face was bent, crying into Sadie's shoulder. "Umm, miss? Sorry, could I ask your name?" The girl looked up at her surprised. But, as soon as the surprise set in, they could see fear in the girl's eyes and she became very timid.

"My name," she began, "is Lucy Harrison."

Sadie's eyes widened as she realized who was standing in front of her. When she and Jude were younger, their dad had run away with his lover, Yvette, after their mother kicked him out. Jude had never heard from him again, but Sadie certainly had. Once, three years ago, she was in Michigan, and ran into her father at a small café. He had been ecstatic to see her, but she had not wanted to see him. After a few hours of talking, though, he had her convinced to come and spend the night with him. What he had failed to mention to her, though, was that he was not alone. It turns out, that he had married Yvette and they had a child. The only problem with this, though, was that this child was fourteen. Her father tried to get her to calm down about it, but she had fought with him that night, like she had never fought with anyone else. Once she finally stopped yelling at him, he got a chance to explain to her what happened. He explained that he and their mother had separated once before, but only for a month, when they were younger. It had been during the summer, when Sadie and Jude were at camp. He had moved away, back to his hometown. While he was there, he met Yvette. They fell in love at first sight. But, sure enough, Victoria had come begging for him to come back. He left Yvette hanging, while he went back to his life. A few months later, she called to say that she was pregnant. He had wanted nothing to do with it. But, Yvette begged him to at least choose a name. He had chosen Lucy. He had not seen Yvette since Victoria took him back, until he went to book a vacation for them to Hawaii. They fell back in love. This time, though, it resulted in him losing his family. He went back to Yvette and Lucy, and they both accepted him back, easily. But now, here standing in front of her, was her little sister. All Sadie could think was, "Oh my god."

Then everything went black.

* * *

**(A/N:) Okay, so I'm a bad author, I didn't even go back through this to proof it. I spent all day on this chapter, and it's going up how it is. Please review. Make sure to tell me ALL about the mistakes I made, I deserve it. :)**

**~Marianna G.**


	11. Chapter 11

A unanimous scream sounded in the room. Sadie quickly came to her senses and decided to get a flashlight to investigate the sudden darkness covering the room. Once on, the beam of light moved to look Lucy Harrison right in the face.

Sadie didn't know where to begin. "What are you doing here?"

From the look on Lucy's face, Sadie guessed her voice conveyed her displeasure in having the fruit of her father's affair in the same room. Lucy looked like a deer caught in the headlights as she answered slowly, "I…came to meet…you."

Sadie's demeanor stayed in place. "You came to meet me?" she asked in a harsh voice.

"And Jude!" Lucy quickly added. Jude, at this point, had come out of the shadows and into the visibility given by the flashlight.

Confused, Jude asked Sadie, "What's going on? What do you know, that I don't?"

A meaningful glance was shared between Sadie and Jude, before Sadie could no longer take the weight of what was to come. Sadie had always been the calmer, more collected one in times of distress. Jude had been the more passionate one, the fighter. This night would not end quietly or pleasantly. Sadie knew she needed to take Jude and Lucy home before the explanation began.

"I got it!" Tommy's voice was heard from the outside. The lights came back on. An audible scoff followed his exclamation.

"You mean I got it." Milo grumbled. Sadie mentally sighed, as the two men came back into the building. She waved Milo over, explaining that they needed to go home immediately, and that Jude and Lucy were coming. On the ride to Sadie and Milo's home, Jude asked a million questions. Lucy sat there quietly, too worried to know the reaction to her sudden appearance. Sadie put her head on the dashboard, her eyes closed, and told Jude to shut up. Milo, just as bewildered as Jude, tapped his fingers on the steering wheel to the beat of the music on the radio, to which, he was pretty sure no one else in the car was listening.

Rather than get into it right when they stepped through the door of the Keegan-Harrison home, Sadie sat everyone down on the couch and made her way into the kitchen. While she made cookies and coffee to buy herself some time to think, awkward conversation was being made on the other side of the wall.

"So, you said your name was Lucy?" Milo asked with an uncharacteristic shyness.

Lucy smiled timidly back, "Yeah. But, I would really rather wait for Sadie to get back, before any more questions are asked."

This put a silence on the room, until Jude broke out with, "So, Milo, how was work today?"

He smiled at her attempt, "Good. Same as always." Her face dropped. "Sorry to disappoint your obvious want for conversation."

Jude sat in a dull silence for a few more seconds before she decided to go into the kitchen and talk to Sadie about this 'Lucy' girl. Her plan was foiled, though, as soon as she placed her hand on the door to the kitchen.

"I really wouldn't advise you to go in there, right now." Milo's voice did annoy her so. She bit her lip, then slowly, sank down to the floor, her back against the wall. A few exciting minutes later, Sadie strutted through the door with a plate of burnt cookies and scorched coffee. She managed a weak smile at the occupants of the room.

"Okay," Sadie began, sitting the cookies and coffee down on the coffee table, "I'm sure you two," she motioned to Jude and Milo, "are wondering who this girl is."

After a long explanation, there was nothing but silence in the room. Jude had her head laying on her bent knees and Milo was massaging the bridge of his nose. Lucy merely looked as if she would love nothing more than to disappear into the couch in that moment.

In a moment of courage and understanding, Jude rose to her feet, walked over to Lucy, and hugged her. "I'm sorry you had to go through this," she said.

"But, aren't you mad at me, or something? For ruining your family?" Lucy asked.

Jude's gaze lingered on the younger woman sympathetically as she replied in a hushed and deeply emotional tone, "No. _You_ didn't ruin our family. Our father did that. You had no choice what you were born a part of. But you are my sister, and family is the most important thing we have."

They all went to bed that night, calmed and satisfied.

The next day, however, was not so pleasant. It turned out, that the paparazzi at Darius's party, though quiet, had only been straining to hear what was being said. The blonde-haired, blue-eyed Lucy Harrison got more attention than her singer-songwriter-producer sister had in the past three years. The headlines all read, '_Another Musically-inclined Harrison?_' or something of that sort.

Lucy came into Studio B screaming one evening. Tommy and Jude, who had previously been holding hands, dropped them quickly and turned to stare at the youngest Harrison sister. "Why do all these reporters feel the need to follow me into the bathroom?" she asked. Jude burst out laughing. Lucy glared at her. "_Why_ is this so funny to you?"

Jude just smiled evilly, "That wasn't a reporter." Lucy waited for the punch line. Jude elaborated, "That was Tyler, the newest talent. He has a little bit of a crush on you."

At this news, Lucy perked right up. "Well, I think Sadie wanted me for something. I think I'll go see what that was." As she nearly ran out of the studio, she 'straightened' her top, which coincidentally, showed off her cleavage spectacularly. Tommy rolled his eyes at her, turning to Jude.

"You know, she was this shy little girl two weeks ago, when she got here, but I'm sorry to say this about your sister, but she's turned into, something." He raised his eyebrows at her.

"If the word you're looking for is 'easy', then yeah, I agree." Jude said, annoyed at the girl.

Karma watched the teenager bounce off to look for Tyler, while she plotted her next move. She walked purposefully toward the girl, matching her stride quickly. "Hey Luce," she said, "Who're you looking for?"

Lucy giggled, "Tyler. Jude says he likes me."

Karma's eyes widened theatrically, "No! Well, if you ask me, you can do _way_ better than some newcomer." This made Lucy stop in her tracks, intrigued.

"Really," she began, "Like who?"

Karma motioned with her index finger for Lucy to move in closer. She whispered in her ear, "You know Tommy, right?" Lucy nodded enthusiastically. "Well," Karma continued, "I saw him looking at you last night, as you were leaving, he couldn't take his eyes off you." Karma knew she was completely BS-ing this, but Lucy was so full of herself from all the paparazzi attention, she believed all the praise she got, now.

"I knew it!" she whispered. "So, what should I do?"

Karma pretended to think long and hard about this. "Well, I can set up an audition for you tomorrow. You said you can sing, right?" Lucy nodded. "Okay, so I set that up, you come in tomorrow, looking your best, and I'll make sure you get Tommy as a producer. And trust me, he gets up close and personal to his artists." Karma finished off with a wink.

"But," Lucy began, "how are _you_ going to do this? You're a singer." Karma looked put-off for only a minute, before she regained her composure.

"Trust me, I've got people." From the landing above, E.J. had been listening to the whole conversation and had a delighted look on her face. If there was anything to push Tommy and Jude in the right direction, it was to get Jude jealous.


End file.
